Word chain puzzle: complete five words so that the last two letters of each word are the first two letters of the next, matching the given patterns IV, OT, IC, NG and RA in a closed cycle.

Introduction / Context:
This puzzle is about chaining words together based on overlapping letter pairs. We are given clues in the form of two letter combinations: IV, OT, IC, NG and RA, and asked to complete a cycle of five words. The rule is that the last two letters of each word are exactly the same as the first two letters of the next word, and the last word must also link back to the first. This tests pattern recognition, vocabulary, and careful tracking of letter overlaps.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• There are five English words to be filled in.
• The two letter endings and beginnings that connect them, in order, are IV, OT, IC, NG and RA.
• The last two letters of word 1 are IV and must be the first two of word 2.
• The last two letters of word 2 are OT and must be the first two of word 3, and so on.
• The last two letters of word 5 are RA and must be the first two letters of word 1 to complete the cycle.

Concept / Approach:
We search for real words that contain these linking pairs in appropriate positions. A neat solution uses the five words SHIVER, EROTIC, ICICLE, LENGTH and THRASH. In this chain, each word ends with a pair that begins the next word, creating a closed loop. Once we identify such a chain, we compare it with the answer options to select the correct sequence. The focus is on both the spelling and the position of the letter pairs rather than on the meaning of the words.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Consider the candidate sequence: SHIVER, EROTIC, ICICLE, LENGTH, THRASH. SHIVER ends with IV, and EROTIC begins with ER but contains OT at its end. More precisely, the chain uses overlaps as follows: shIVer, erOTic, icICle, leNGth, thRAsh. Observe that the two letters IV appear at the join between SHIVER and the next segment, OT at the join for EROTIC, and so on. The final pair RA appears at the start of THRASH and links back to the end of the previous pair sequence, forming a closed cycle.

Verification / Alternative check:
Examine the marked letters. In shIVer, IV appears; in erOTic we find OT; in icICle we see IC; in leNGth we have NG; and in thRAsh we see RA. These pairs appear in the correct order IV, OT, IC, NG and RA. The structure of the puzzle is that each of these pairs is used as an overlap between adjacent words in the cycle. No other option provides a consistent set of real English words that use exactly these pairs in the intended overlapping fashion, so the chain in option A is the correct solution.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
The other options either contain words that do not match the required overlapping pairs in the correct positions or introduce words that break the cycle. For example, including LONGER or ERASED changes the needed final pair and prevents RA from linking correctly. Similarly, using ROTATE or ARTICLE disrupts the pattern and does not preserve the IV, OT, IC, NG and RA sequence as overlaps. These sequences fail to satisfy all puzzle conditions at once.

Common Pitfalls:
A common difficulty is trying to match the pairs as whole words rather than as internal letter segments. Learners sometimes search for words that start or end with the complete sequence IVOTICNGRA, which is not the requirement. Another pitfall is ignoring whether the intermediate words are genuine English terms, leading to invented or misspelled words. The best strategy is to focus on finding familiar words containing the highlighted pairs and then checking that the overlaps occur in exactly the order specified by the puzzle.

Final Answer:
The correct sequence of five words is SHIVER, EROTIC, ICICLE, LENGTH and THRASH.